外媒称普京与美女间谍有染 夫人被“关”修道院

As Vladimir Putin prepares to become Russia's President for an unprecedented third time, speculation is mounting as to why his wife Lyudmila Putina is never seen by his side.

Some say Putin's affair with spy-turned-lingerie model Anna Chapman, which has been strongly denied, is the reason the former Aeroflot-hostess is now rarely seen out in public.

Others say he is still seeing former Olympic gold medallist Alina Kabayeva, claims also heavily rebutted, but who he was alleged to have fathered a child with.

A third theory is his 54-year-old love is 'locked away' in a 1million pound state-built guest house in the grounds of the ancient Yelizarov monastery outside Pskov - close to Estonia's border.

Locals say they have 'proof' she has been there - but all official enquiries to the authorities are met with a steely silence.

A final hunch is Lyudmila became angry when, in 2008, he stepped down from the top job but then took up the post of Prime Minister.

She is rumoured to have moved back to his native St Petersburg while he remained in the capital Moscow.

Sociologist Olga Kryshtranovkaya said Putin was merely copying Soviet leaders who hid their wives from view.

The one exception, she said, was Mikhail Gorbachev whose wife Raisa played a higher-profile role during the 1980s - but that led to criticism from ordinary Russians.

"For Russia, the status of First Lady is different than in Western countries. It's our mentality about the role of women, unfortunately," she told The Times.

"Our First Lady has practically always been a housewife who looked after the children and didn't invite herself into politics. The first change was with Gorbachev and it was a very unsuccessful example from the Russian point of view," she stated.

Previously, they were often pictured together on diplomatic trips abroad, but in the last two years they have been seen together just twice.

正当弗拉基米尔-普京即将史无前例地第三次出任俄罗斯总统之际，有关他的妻子柳德米拉-普京娜鲜有露面的情况引发了外界的猜测。

有人称普京与前美女特工安娜-查普曼有染是前俄航空姐柳德米拉现在很少露面的原因，但这一传闻遭到坚决否认。安娜-查普曼现在是一名内衣模特。

也有传言称普京还在与俄罗斯前奥运会艺术体操冠军艾琳娜•卡巴耶娃约会，这一传闻也遭到否认，但有谣传称卡巴耶娃为普京生下一子。

另有说法称，现年54岁的柳德米拉被“藏在”由政府出资100万英镑修建的招待所内，招待所位于古老的Yelizarov修道院里。修道院位于俄罗斯普斯科夫州附近，毗邻爱沙尼亚。

当地居民表示，他们有“证据”证明柳德米拉在那里，但俄罗斯各个政府部门对有关此问题的正式询问都守口如瓶。

还有一种传言是，普京在2008年卸任总统后继续担任俄罗斯总理一职的做法令柳德米拉感到不满。

有传言称她搬回了普京位于圣彼得堡的老家，而普京继续留在莫斯科生活。

社会学家奥尔加指出，普京只是在效仿过去苏联领导人的做法，让妻子远离公众视线。

她说，只有米哈伊尔-戈尔巴乔夫是个例外，他的妻子赖莎在20世纪80年代经常高调亮相，但这也招致了俄罗斯普通民众的不满。

奥尔加对《泰晤士报》说：“在俄罗斯，第一夫人的身份和西方国家不同。没办法，这源于我们对于女性角色的看法。”

她说：“俄罗斯的第一夫人实际上一直是家庭主妇的角色，在家照顾孩子，不参与政治。戈尔巴乔夫做出了首次改变，但在俄罗斯人看来，这是个失败的例子。”

此前，媒体经常拍到普京和妻子一起出访，但在过去两年中，这对夫妇只有两次一同现身公共场合。